A Reason to Stay
by ProphecyRain
Summary: He needed to give her a reason to stay, but heartfelt confessions are difficult when you don't trust yourself with words. Mori/OC. One-shot.


It was baffling to Mori that he could see someone else so regularly and still know so precious little about them. What was more confusing though, was that he had developed feelings for her based on so little as he did know.

Kimiko Watanabe, that was her name. She was in the B class of his year. Throughout their time at middle school he had never even spoken to her, just seen her wandering around Ouran. She still spent most of her time near the kitchens. As the youngest daughter of a renowned chef and restaurateur, she had always been expected to follow in her father's footsteps. True, her older sister was due to inherit the business, but Kimiko had inherited all of their father's talents when it came to food. Using her natural inclination for creating infamously delectable desserts, she had set up a small business in one of the high-school kitchens during their first year and prepared any commissions given to her.

No job was considered too grand or too intricate in the 'Sugar and Spice' kitchen.

When Tamaki had first set-up the Host Club, Kyoya had immediately sought to gain Kimiko as a business ally and, naturally, he had struck a deal. Kimiko would make a sufficient selection of treats for the Host Club's guests to enjoy and, in exchange, Kyoya would personally help organise her finances and develop a business model. Both parties had been as good as their word.

On their very first day of business Hunny - as the obvious expert - had been sent to inspect and collect the cake that the Host Club had ordered for their grand opening. Of course, that had meant Mori tagging along too. When they had walked into the kitchen, Kimiko was putting the final touches on her masterpiece; seven tiers of chocolate sponge covered with a smooth sheet of light pink icing and adorned with delicate pink and red sugar rose petals that looked as though they had been scattered by a gentle summer breeze.

"Okay!" Kimiko had chimed as she attached the final petal and stepped back to study her own work. "You should be good to go!"

After that day, Hunny and Mori would head straight to the kitchens after their last class everyday to collect the desserts. Something of a friendship quickly developed between the three of them and - although Mori didn't know exactly when his feelings for her had first developed - he _could_ pinpoint the moment when he'd actually realised they were there.

It was a day like any other. After a full day of lessons they had made their way to the kitchens to be greeted, as always, with a smile. "Ah, Hunny-kun, I have a surprise for you." Without delay, Kimiko placed a delicious looking strawberry cheesecake in front of them both. "You said it was one of your favourites, so I made extra today." Then, with a grin, she added, "It's our little secret though. Don't want my other customers to think I'm playing favourites."

It was then, as his heart had lurched in his chest, that Mori had realised that he had developed a crush on Kimiko.

None of the other hosts - except Hunny, of course - knew about Mori's feelings. Why would they? They had never been in a room with them both. Hunny though, sensitive as ever to his cousin's feelings, had picked up on it straight away. "It's the way you watch her," he had said with a small grin, "and you smile more too."

When he thought about it, Mori just found it was easier to smile with Kimiko around.

His feelings had lasted throughout their second and third years. Every other day, Kimiko would make sure there was an extra cake waiting just for Hunny, she had even managed to coax Mori into trying a slice every now and then too. In the end, he found those precious ten to twenty minutes spent in those kitchens had become the highlight of his day.

Each and every day, Mori would try to find the right words to express himself to Kimiko, and each and every day he failed miserably. He didn't trust himself with words, he wasn't good with them. He had never needed to be, Hunny had always been their voice. As much as he may have wanted to, Mori just couldn't offer Kimiko the pretty words and heartfelt declarations of undying love like Tamaki might have been able to, he didn't have the same mischievous undertone to his voice that the twins had that all the girls their age seemed to adore, nor did he have the practised poise of Kyoya. Even Haruhi had more of a way with words...

His turmoil carried on right through until the end of the year, when the situation took a turn for the worst. Kimiko would be leaving in just a few short weeks, going abroad to gain experience in one of her father's restaurants. Kimiko had been guaranteed a prestigious position as head chef in any restaurant of her choosing, the new top chef of the Watanabe family. She had her future all laid out for her...

And it was a future that Mori definitely wasn't a part of.

He would often think about it, the future. It would be wholly foolish of him to assume that they would fall in love and live happily ever after, that it'd all work out just like that. Dojos and desserts didn't exactly go hand-in-hand after all. Still, he'd always hoped that they could go on a date or two and see how things went from there.

"Takashi," Hunny said, his voice drawing Mori from his thoughts. How long had he been contemplating his situation? A while, if the look on Hunny's face was anything to go by. Blinking rapidly a few times to clear his head, Mori soon realised that they were stood outside the kitchen.

"Ah..." he sounded eventually.

"I left a book in the classroom; I'll go get it while you get the cakes, kay?" Without waiting for a response, Hunny had begun to walk back towards the classrooms.

Mori blanched. He couldn't go in there, not alone. How was he meant to face Kimiko with the knowledge that she would be leaving in just a few weeks weighing so heavily on his mind?

"Mitsukuni-"

"Kimi-chan always complains about going abroad..." Hunny sighed, "I think she'd rather stay here."

As Hunny continued to saunter away, Mori stared after him. Not much got past Mitsukuni, even though a lot of people found that hard to believe. Surely he wouldn't goad Mori into confessing his feelings if he didn't think Kimiko felt something similar. But Mori wasn't good with words! He was the silent and stoic type for a reason! He didn't trust himself with words... he had never needed to, the only people who he might have felt comfortable talking around were the same few people who knew what he was thinking and feeling just by his expressions.

Turning around, Mori began to walk away.

_Is it worth living with the regret?_ He asked himself and, after taking a deep breath, he turned back to the kitchen doors.

"Mori-kun, is Hunny-kun not with you today?" He merely shook his head and in response, she shrugged. "Oh well, it's nice to see you... I'm just putting the finishing touches on this last one."

"Yeah..."

A quite comfortable silence settled between them as Mori contented himself with watching her work. Inwardly, he wondered if she even realised that she stuck her tongue out when she was concentrating. He enjoyed watching her in the kitchen, as pretty as he thought she might look preened to perfection, he would always prefer her as she was at that moment – in her baggy and stained chef's whites with her hair hastily pulled back into a messy bun and her hazel eyes narrowed as she focused on the intricate icing pattern. It was her. Wonderful, just as she was.

Hm... She had a smudge of icing on her cheek...

Without realising it, Mori had moved forwards and gently wiped away the smear of icing with his thumb, freezing when he realised what he had just done. At first, he went to apologise, then he saw her sweet smile and flushed cheeks as she turned to face him and thought the better of it.

Maybe there was hope yet.

Opening his mouth, Mori willed words to appear with all his might. Nothing... he couldn't think of a single thing to say. After a long silence between them, Mori's hand dropped to his side and Kimiko turned away.

_Say something! _Mori told himself, his mouth kept opening but no sound passed his lips. What was wrong with him?!

"You know..." Kimiko began, tentatively searching for words of her own and continuing with the icing, "my father was planning on sending me to France for a year or two, after all, no one cooks quite like the French."

_Don't go... _That was all he needed to say, even she was willing him to say it now. "Yeah."

Undeterred by his lack of response, Kimiko continued, "I told him that I wasn't sure I wanted to go... he got angry at me but, I think he's planning on making Sugar and Spice an official part of the family business, a series of cafés."

"Ah..."

"I-I would still need to go abroad at some point, do some apprentice work so that I can become a full-fledged chef... but it wouldn't be for as long and it wouldn't be until after all the first café was set-up."

He visibly perked up at that. "You're staying?" he muttered. _Congratulations, two whole words._ Even the voice in his own head mocked him.

"I might be... I don't know... I think... I think I just need more of a reason to stay..."

She looked to him then, finally putting down the icing bag and craning her neck to stare straight into his eyes. Once more, Mori opened his mouth and once more no words came. He saw her faltering and reached out to her, gripping her wrist firmly so that she wouldn't move away.

If she wanted a reason, he would give her a reason.

He tugged her towards him, giving her the opportunity to move away if she wanted. But she didn't. Mori leant down and wrapped his arms around her, inhaling the scent of her hair as she wrapped her arms around him. The kiss was short, but sweet and as they parted Mori finally managed to tell her, "Stay."

With a bright smile, Kimiko nodded.

He would always be her reason to stay.


End file.
